Racing News round-up: The entire Irish team at tomorrow evening's Breeders' Cup spectacular in New York will race on medication including the major pair of Oratorio and Azamour who will both run on the Lasix for the first time.
Lasix, also known as Salix, is a substance that prevents horses bleeding during strenuous activity and is legal and widely used in the states that host racing in the US.
Only one of the home team, Steam Cat in the Juvenile, is listed to run without lasix throughout the eight race card at Belmont Park and Aidan O'Brien, with five runners, as well as John Oxx (Azamour) and David Wachman (Luas Line) have decided to give their horses the drug too.
Significantly, however, the five French-trained horses, including Shirocco and Bago in the $2 million Turf race, will not run on medication and the same applies to Michael Kinane's Fillies and Mares mount Favourable Terms who is trained by Michael Stoute.
"In this country if we found positive results for any of the medication used at the Breeders' Cup then those horses would be disqualified, and the same would apply throughout Europe," the Turf Club chief executive Denis Egan confirmed yesterday.
"But the situation is that people have the attitude of when in Rome, do as the Romans do," Egan added. "It is completely up to themselves what they do and they are not breaking any of our rules out there."
The issue of drugs in racing in America has become increasingly controversial in recent years and the country is out of step with most of the sports other major players throughout Europe and Asia. The impact of lasix on the actual performance of racehorses is not certain but Irish trainers generally do use it when running horses in America.
Ivan Denisovich, Aidan O'Brien's hope in the Juvenile, is also a first time lasix user but his three other runners, Ace (Turf), Ad Valorem (Mile) and Mona Lisa (Fillies and Mares) have raced in the US before and all ran on the drug. Luas Line has also run on lasix in America this year.
Lasix is a diurectic that causes the fluids locked in horses body tissues to be released and expelled in the urine. It also helps to lower blood pressure which in turn lowers the risk of horses bursting blood vessels.
Concerns about the impact of soft ground on tomorrow's races are still of primary interest at Belmont but John Magnier is also concerned about the task facing Mona Lisa against the defending champion Ouija Board. "Mona Lisa is very tough but we are talking about Ouija Board and she's a different grade," the Coolmore supremo said yesterday. "Our horse has been improving but has a good bit to find."
On the home front the focus is turning more towards the winter jumps season and a mouth-watering clash between the old rivals Moscow Flyer and Rathgar Beau could be on the cards at Navan in a fortnight's time.
The pair have contested the Fortria Chase before but it was in last April's Kerrygold Champion Chase at Punchestown that Rathgar Beau finally got his head in front and ended his rival's winning streak over fences.
"It will be either Navan or the Clonmel Oil Chase which he won last year. Rathgar Beau will run in one or the other," said his trainer "Dusty" Sheehy yesterday.
The two-mile crown is Rathgar Beuu's target this year rather than aiming at the Ryanair Chase over two mile and five furlongs where he was placed at last season's Cheltenham Festival.
"He is very versatile but two miles and five is stretching him a bit. We probably should have gone for the Champion last year - his jockey Shay Barry wanted to - but I chickend out. But that's definitely his aim this time. He has beaten the champion already and was very unlucky not to beat him before," Sheehy added.
There was other good news for jumps fans yesterday as the Wexford track, which is scheduled to race both tomorrow and Sunday, passed an inspection. However, another precautionay inspection will be held tomorrow morning at 8.00 due to an unsettled weather forecast.
